Once again the weather surprised us. In the planning were overcast skies with a little bit of rain but instead we had sunny skies and temperatures that reached the high sixties. Not that we were complaining, it ensured a perfect day during our first stop in Iceland. We had a whole parade of cruise ships… read more of “30 July 2010;…”

Today we crossed that part of the North Atlantic located under Iceland. Although the ship was pitching while going against the North Atlantic swell, the weather forecast for the rest was supposed to have been reasonably decent. Light winds and overcast skies. To my utter amazement I saw during the day the wind freshening up… read more of “29 July 2010; At…”

This was a maiden call for the Prinsendam and subsequently for Holland America. The normal call is at Torshavn but that was out of the question today. It was a national holiday and that is celebrated with a sailing regatta and other water fun. So the whole port was reserved for them. Hence the “Albatros”… read more of “28 July 2010;…”

I was on the bridge by 05.00 to be present while going through the Pentland Firth. This passage is located between the Scottish Mainland and the Orkneys, with Scapa Flow just being to the North of it. As it is a fairly narrow passage, the flood and ebb is really pushed through it at great… read more of “27 July 2010;…”

With a 05.00 pilot time, I poked my nose through the bridge door at 4 am and saw that the weather looked very good. As the Firth of Forth basically runs West to East, it can be a big blow hole that funnels the wind up to a high Beaufort rate, which makes it a… read more of “26 July 2010;…”

During the January 2010 dry dock, the ms Prinsendam received a new GMDSS system (emergency telecommunication system for the bridge) and a new steering system, gyro compass and auto pilot. Normally, the old systems are recycled for scrap. As the Prinsendam would be calling at Vlissingen, the Netherlands, during the summer season, the idea came… read more of “Captain’s…”

Today we really started our voyage heading north; by following the East coast of England. We are not going that fast as explained yesterday, and with very calm weather in the North Sea it was perfect cruising. Not much sunshine but that was good, at least for me, as it keeps that hazy stuff away…. read more of “25 July 2010;…”

Today was the first day of our new cruise and as we stayed in the same place as yesterday it gave a bit of an unusual feeling. Normally, as soon as everybody is onboard, we race out to open sea and head for our first port. Now we were already there, which made for a… read more of “24 July 2010;…”